Automatic rural mailbox signal



Jan. 8, 1952 L. m 2,581,880

AUTOMATIC RURAL MAILBOX SIGNAL Filed May 18, 1950 INVENTOR. zAv/JvnF916! Patented Jan. 8, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC RURALMAILBOX SIGNAL Lawson Price, Rensselaer, Ind.

Application May 18, 1950, Serial No. 162,767

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to rural mail boxes, and the main object thereofis the provision of a signal therefor which is automatically operatedand moved into visible or signalling position when the door of the boxis opened by the mail carrier prior to his placing the mail therein.Thus, without any other operation on the part of the carrier than thatof opening the door of the mail box, the signal to the box owner isautomatically set so that the latter may see at a glance whether or notthere is any mail for him.

The above broad as well as additional and more specific objects will beclarified in the following description, wherein characters of referencerefer to like-numbered parts in the accompanying drawing.

Referring briefly to the drawing, Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing arural mail box having the automatic signal of this invention appliedthereto.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, illustratingthe automatic dropping of the signal to visible position upon opening ofthe mail box door.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the mail box, showing how it appears,with the signal in fully extended visible position, after the carrierhas closed the door after placing mail in the box.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 1.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral l indicates a rural mailbox comprisin the elongated housing I I open at the front end, providedwith the floor [2. A door I3 is hinged on a horizontal axis below thefront open end of the box, as shown at M, and cooperating spring clipsIE (on the housing II) and IS (on the door) serve as readily releasablemeans for maintaining the door in vertical or closed position.

The side walls I! of the housing II extend downward below the level ofthe floor I2 to rovide opposed longitudinal flanges under the box.Pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis on aligned pins [8 in the saidflanges below the floor 12 and near the open forward end of the housing,a plate-like signal member is provided at I9. The signal I8 is normallyadapted to be positioned, by gravity, in vertical suspension from itspivots I8. The free end of the signal l9 has a partly doubled-backforward edge providing a lip 20.

Intermediate the width and height of the door l3, a resilient band ormember 2| is secured to the door and has its lower end 22 free andextending outward at an acute angle to the plane 2 of the door. With thedoor 13 closed, the signal I9 is swung into horizontal position and thelip 20 engages and depresses the free extension 22 of the member 2|. Thelatter operation is performed by the mail box owner after he has removedthe mail. Then, when the box is empty, the signal is invisible under thefloor of the box, as shown in Fig. 1. When the carrier opens the doorI3, as obvious in Fig. 2, the signal I9 is released to fall into thevisible position shown in Fig. 3.

I claim:

A rural mail box comprising a housing open at the front end and having afloor, said housing including opposed side walls extending below saidfloor thereby providing longitudinal flanges under the box, a doorhingedly mounted on a horizontal axis extending substantially across thelower edge of said front end of the boxand adapted normally to bepositioned vertically against said open end of the box, releasable meansfor maintaining said door in vertical position as aforesaid, a signalcomprising a normally horizontal plate-like member having one endthereof pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis between said flanges,said last-named axis being positioned rearward of said open end of thehousing, said signal being urged by gravity into vertical position ofsuspension from said last-named axis, and means partly on said signaland partly on said door for releasably locking said signal in horizontalposition after manual swinging of the signal to horizontal position andafter said door is closed, said means comprising a doubled-back lip onthe free end of said member extending outward from the normally upperside of said member, said door having a member secured thereto on theouter surface thereof, said door member having an extension extending atan acute angle to the plane of the door in a downward direction, saidlip being engageable by said extension when said door is closed and saidsignal is positioned horizontally as aforesaid.

LAWSON PRICE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

